Is maths made up or real? This is the message I wrote on the website of mathematician Eugenia Cheng.
https://eugeniacheng.com/
Hi! I read about you in "Nautilus" magazine. I think your statement "Some of the power of math lies in the very fact that it's made up" is a fascinating place from which to start speculating. The second step is to recall statements by Eugene Wigner and Max Tegmark. Eugene Wigner, a physicist, wrote an article in 1960 titled “The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences”. He argued that mathematical concepts have applicability far beyond the context in which they were originally developed. In a recent interview, physicist and mathematician Dr. Max Tegmark, stated that “math is the true driver of the universe and the universe itself is a model of the mathematical principles”.
Something made up by humans could be unreasonably effective in the universe if humans used that maths to create the universe. That sounds impossible - pure fantasy, too unrealistic even for science fiction. But bear with me. In an article written for the magazine Nautilus, it’s stated that the journals of American physicist John Wheeler, which he always kept at hand, reveal a stunning portrait of an obsessed thinker. The article says, “He knew that quantum measurement allowed observers in the present to create the past ...” and his journal contains thoughts agreeing with “The universe has created an observer and now, in an act of quantum measurement, the observer looks back and creates the universe.” Could the origin of life be related to the movie “Interstellar”? In the movie, it’s stated that humans will oneday be able to build things they can’t make now. If we take this idea to an extreme, and take “oneday” to mean an indefinite point in the far future, will we do what is obviously regarded as impossible and create life – and conceivably, the universe itself? Someday there will be a human civilization that can build their mathematics into the creation, structure, and functioning of life and the cosmos. Emotion may well declare this an absurdity and we might retreat to things like quantum fluctuation or spontaneous creation from nothing. Logically – using Einstein’s nonlinear and interactive curved time added to limitless advance of human potential through the eons – the absurdity is plausible. Just for now, cast off any thoughts about the fragility or shortness of human existence. Believe that people will oneday be able to build things they can’t make now – and that someday there will be a human civilization that can build their mathematics into the creation, structure, and functioning of life and the cosmos.
The most fundamental ingredient in creation of the universe might be base 2 maths aka the BITS or binary digits of 1 and 0. These could be used to construct everything (even the quantum units of gravitation and electromagnetic energy), and could build in the 4 dimensions of space-time. Maybe "made up" maths is actually used to produce the universe in some remote future - with the information being transmitted, via the curvature of time enabling different periods to interact, back to our present and distant past. Then the made-up maths becomes real maths!
I see on your website that people ask about 1+1=2. If all objects and events in space-time are connected, there would actually only be one being. The idea of "2" or being able to add one thing to another thing would be a result of the way our limited senses and technology operate - an illusion caused by our perceiving things as separate and unconnected.
Well, I hope you read all of this rather lengthy message. I'm rather pleased with how my thoughts turned out and have decided to post this on my ResearchGate webpage.
Is Mathematics Made Up or Real?
Although there are various interpretations regarding the nature and existence of mathematics, it is generally accepted as a genuine and objective discipline of study. Mathematicians and philosophers have disagreed on the nature of mathematical objects and whether or not they exist apart from the human mind in a philosophical sense.
There are two primary schools of philosophy to explain this:
Platonism: According to this perspective, mathematical objects like numbers and geometric shapes exist independently and objectively. Platonism holds that mathematical truths are discovered by mathematicians, not created. These realities occur in an abstract, non-physical domain.
Formalism or Nominalism: According to this viewpoint, mathematical entities are products of human creativity. This perspective holds that mathematics is a language or formal system invented by humans to explain patterns and relationships in the real world. The human mind is necessary for the existence of mathematical things.
In reality, mathematicians frequently develop a working philosophy that enables them to apply mathematical ideas successfully without going too far into the philosophical underpinnings. Mathematics has shown to be an incredibly strong instrument for explaining and comprehending numerous parts of the natural world, regardless of the philosophical interpretation. Mathematical models and concepts are fundamental to many scientific ideas and technical developments. @Sangho Ko@Ranjana Bhaskaran@Chian Fan@Rodney Bartlett
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